Frontline Outreach Inc.
Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders for Success and Service
Frontline Outreach Inc. provides a safe haven where community youth and their families participate in programs and activities that promote leadership, entrepreneurship, academics and the discipline essential to succeeding on the world stage.
Values
Determination
We persevere and pursue with courage and conviction; we never give up.
Respect
Integrity
Victorious
Excellence
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History of Frontline Outreach Inc.
For over a half century, the building that Frontline Outreach occupies has been the site of service for the youth and families of Washington Shores and Central Florida. Over the years, the baton of leadership has moved with the times. However, each iteration of leadership provided what the community required, exactly at that moment.
In the beginning, the building was home to The Roosevelt Bowling Lanes, offering families in the black community a venue to relax and recreate. Sadly, after an unfortunate fire, the bowling alley was shuttered.
In 1951, Dr. James R. Smith, one of only five medical physicians serving the 40,000 person geographically dispersed African American community, established a safe and hygienic medical facility for African American women to give birth, known as a “Lying In Hospital.” It was also Dr. James R. Smith, who with the help of others, founded Florida’s first and only Black owned savings and loan institution. during the times of sweltering Central Florida racial segregation.
Dr. Smith additionally rallied the board of the Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Association and friends of the community to support his pursuit of purchasing and renovating the burned Roosevelt Bowling Lanes to house his dream of providing a building of refuge to address the community’s childcare needs. In 1967 he established W.S.A.R. (The Washington Shores Association for Recreation) to carry his dream forward.
Through the endeavors of Dr. Smith to seek charitable contributions and the securing of financing through the Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Association, the acquisition of a burned and abandoned bowling alley would now be the home of W.S.A.R., and a continuation of Dr. Smith’s work to expand the services and impact the lives of children and families until his death.
Meanwhile, in the same year…
Less than a mile east of the facility, another passionate leader with the same last name, Smith, was serving the same population. affectionately known as, “C.R.”, C.R. Smith owned and operated an area appliance business, and later started a local chapter of the Tom Skinner Club, housing it in one of his former store locations. Mr. Smith initiated this chapter as a tribute to a man who had risen above his Harlem gang challenges and wanted to spread a message of hope to the communities who seemed to be hopeless.
Both Dr. James R. Smith and Mr. C.R. Smith concentrated their efforts on meeting the needs of children and families during a time when segregation and racism were common. Leading up to Dr. James R. Smith’s passing, the W.S.A.R. building slowly succumbed to administrative difficulties, and Dr. James R. Smith’s dream, for a time, appeared to be stalled.
Mr. C.R. Smith felt called by God to greater works and service and with the help of Mayor William Frederick, C.R. launched a campaign to acquire the vacated building and build upon the foundation of service already laid by the previous community visionary, J. R. Smith. January 1, 1984, Mr. C.R. Smith relocated his operations from the Tom Skinner Club storefront location on Orange Blossom Trail and entered the new premises, naming it Frontline Outreach, Inc. With this move, the storefront now became the space for The Hope Church, pastored by Reverend R. W. Wiggins, to occupy as its’ starter home.
Mr. C.R. Smith set the course for Frontline Outreach to become a bold Christian outreach community engine. This organization would be pivotal in combating racism during a time of racial unrest and navigate towards becoming a full-service youth and family center offering services in education, character development, arts and sports. It was surely C.R.’s desire to bless others; with his wife Estelle by his side, working as a champion of Frontline Outreach. His efforts earned the words touted in his obituary “Mr. C.R. Smith a man known as the Mother Teresa of Orlando.”
Every Frontline leader, whether Board Chair, Board member or supporter, who have navigated through the ebbs and flows of Frontline’s existence, have done their part to build upon the vision and legacies of Dr. Smith and C.R. Smith. Realizing that great success does not happen alone, we honor the many individuals who have served as Board Chairs or Executive Directors including Andy Snyder, Tony Jenkins, Bill Dillard, Arthur Lee, Ralph Veerman, Larry Curry, Arto Woodley, Paulette Edwards and others.
In 2013, Bishop Allen T.D Wiggins
The son of the late Rev. R.W. Wiggins and current Senior Pastor of The Hope Church, accepted the call to stand with those who labored before him and expanded the vision and direction of Frontline Outreach. In what can only be called “Divine appointment”, destiny positioned the paths of Frontline, The Hope Church and the Wiggins family to cross one another.
Since the divine connection, many years ago, when C.R. made available his vacated storefront space for The Hope Church’s humble beginnings, Bishop Wiggins has been coalescing the area social, evangelical and community interests to create the Hope Center West Campus: a live, work, learn, play and worship community that has impacted the lives of community children families and particularly, the underserved; inspiring and enabling them to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.
Education has always been part of the Hope Center West Master Plan and the Nap Ford Community School/ Legends Academy joined the Hope Center West Campus in 2015. Since then, the school has operated in 25 portables and doubled its census. However, we have always envisioned a school with an even greater census that would have a tipping point impact on Zip Code 32805. We also recognized that the portables were insufficient. The obvious conclusion was that the “highest and best use” of the Frontline building, for this next season of service, would be to become the permanent home for Legends, a school that needed space to grow and an organization with a leadership that would have an appreciation for the history and service of Frontline.
Throughout its history, Frontline’s place and purpose were always indistinguishable. In this next iteration of its evolution, the building will migrate to support a more focused academic along with health and wellness place for community youth. The Frontline organization, still very much alive, will migrate to another place on the Hope Center West Campus. But Frontline’s purpose will remain very much intact. Its vision, values care for leadership, character building, health and wellness of our community youth will continue but will now be expanded to address a compelling new actor of our time: Technology.
Frontline Outreach Inc. In Action
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